"Ugghhh," Jay groaned, dropping his forehead to the dining table with a heavy smack. "We've been studying for hours. I can see equations when I close my eyes."
I hummed, forehead creased in concentration as I scrawled down some answers in my notebook. My head throbbed from the unending hard work.
"Jay's right," Kai said with a grunt as he stretched tall. "We should take a break. What if we go for a walk and get some lunch? Fresh air would be nice."
"Uh..." I said, biting my lip as I scratched in the last answer. I dropped my pen with a thump and straightened. "Sure. I could go for some lunch. Do you have somewhere in mind?"
"Oh!" Jay piped up, suddenly bursting with energy once more. "I know the best place!"
"Usually Jay's ideas are terrible," Kai grunted as he stood. "But I'm too hungry and tired to argue. Lead the way, buddy."
"I guess it'll have to do," I sighed.
"I'm choosing better friends," Jay muttered to himself. Kai and I snickered.
On the way back home from lunch, I spotted a bunch of sunflowers for sale outside of a florist. I trailed off, mid-conversation with the lads about the newest Starfarer comic (they got me into the series, curse them) as I stared at the yellow flowers.
They-
They remind me of Lloyd.
I'd never gotten Lloyd flowers before.
"Y/n?" Kai asked, waving his hand in front of my face. I snapped back to reality, gaze jumping to the amber-eyed teen. "You good? You're spacing."
"Oh. Yeah," I nodded, glancing back at the flowers. "Yeah, sorry. I'll just- I'll be right back."
"Huh?" Jay asked, but I was already hurriedly making my way across the street. I patted the soft petals of the large flowers and felt my stomach twist with warmth and happiness as I gazed at the yellow plants. They really did remind me of Lloyd.
"Are you thinking of buying some?" Kai asked, peering at a bunch of lilies beside them. "Yeah, I suppose it would be nice to have in the house - especially with this crazy weather."
"I'm buying them for Lloyd," I corrected, checking the price tag. It was manageable - what you couldn't put a price tag on would be the look on his face. A giddy, giggly sense of joy swept through me. I hoped he'd like them.
"For Lloyd?" Jay echoed, gasping. He held his chest and squeed.
"Aw!" Kai pitched, joining Jay's excited reaction. "That's so cute! Lloyd's gonna love them! Oh my gosh, that's just so romantic-"
"Okay," I snickered, picking up the bunch. They even had green ribbon tied around the stalks. "Calm down, Casanova. They're just flowers."
"They're never 'just flowers'!" Kai countered passionately. "Flowers can mean the world to people!"
"Flowers have different meanings, too!" Jay piped up. He eagerly brought out his phone. "Let me look up what sunflowers mean-"
"They mean adoration, longevity and loyalty," chimed in a new voice. "My mother was really into the meanings behind flowers."
We glanced up at the person who'd entered our conversation in confusion.
"Dimitri!" I grinned. "What are you doing here?"
"You think the zen garden takes care of itself?" the kind monk snickered. "I'm here to pick up some more fertiliser. A couple of the shrubs needed perking up."
"Y/n's buying Lloyd flowers!" Kai coed. "Isn't that the sweetest?"
"I think he'll love them," Dimitri agreed.
I rolled my eyes with a grin at the boys' reactions, stepping inside the little florist to pay. When that was said and done, I returned outside.
"I'm going to buy Nya some flowers!" Jay decided.
"I'll get some for Skylor, too!" Kai added on.
"And the revolution begins," Dimitri murmured to me while the ninja scoured for the perfect bunch to give their girlfriends. I hid a snort with the back of my hand. "Lloyd got back from his mission just before I left."
"How bad?" I asked, clutching the sunflowers to my chest while the boys bought their flowers. Kai barely said his goodbye before he was off and racing, eager to see Skylor with his roses in hand.
"Just a few scrapes and bruises," Dimitri reassured. "Nothing major. He has been acting weird lately, however."
I frowned as we began to follow Jay down the street once more. He was merrily humming to himself while clutching a small bouquet of tulips.
"How so?" I asked worriedly. Dimitri gave a sigh through his nose. The bucket of fertiliser swung from his grasp.
